DAY ONE |
October 16, 1962 |
Instead of deferring to the military's position as Kennedy had done previously, he shows commitment to making the best decision for his country by creating ExComm. The individuals he chose had different areas of expertise: some had years of military and diplomatic experience, and others possessed intelligence and fresh perspectives. Making rash decisions could have led to nuclear obliteration, so Kennedy demonstrates effective leadership by establishing the committee to weigh all the options to ensure he chooses the right one.
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"McGeorge Bundy informs President Kennedy that 'hard photographic evidence' has been obtained showing Soviet MRBM's in Cuba. Kennedy immediately calls and 11:45 AM meeting and dictates the names of the fourteen or so advisers he wants present. This group becomes known as the 'ExComm'-- the Executive Committee of the National Security Council" (Chang and Kornbluh).
"Key Members of the ExComm" (Harvard Kennedy School: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs).
"There seemed to be no doubt in [Kennedy's] mind... that the United States would have to get these bases eliminated, the only question was how it was to be done" - Charles E. Bohlen, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, after conferring with the President (Bohlen).
"The first meeting of ExComm convenes…a number of different options for dealing with the Cuban situation. Preliminary discussions lean toward taking some form of military action. The principle options discussed are: (1) A single surgical airstrike on the missile bases; (2) an attack on various Cuban facilities; (3) a comprehensive series of attacks and invasion; or (4) a blockade of Cuba" (Chang and Kornbluh).
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"I now know how Tojo felt when he was planning Pearl Harbor" - Robert Kennedy, in a note passed to the President during an ExComm meeting (Kennedy).